Ok, lots of people are arguing about Gizmodo’s trick at CSS and I figure I may as well add an opinion to the fray. CES is packed with a lot of deep pocketed companies. Losing a TV is bad and frustrating, but not devastating. CES also has a lot of small companies, some up and coming and a few trying to keep from going out of business.

I’ve worked on a lot of projects where we had to hit deadlines for the sake of making a demo or a trade show. I’m sure a lot of you out there have lost weekends, nights, sleep, friend and family time too. Some of us have had vacations canceled and Christmas’s and other holidays ruined for the sake of deadlines that can make or break the company.

Gizmodo’s prank and weak apology will probably inspire some schmuck to try it at another conference, like JavaOne, which is packed with a lot of small companies that have a lot of tired engineers. Maybe nothing would be lost, then again, you never know who is walking in front of that TV next. Either way, we all really need to send a message to Gizmodo that we aren’t going to endorse that kind of behavior by continuing to visit their site, cool as it may be.